Spring support for bed bottoms and the like



May 17, 1932. F. KUSTERLE SPRING SUPPORT FOR BED BOTTOMS AND THE LIKEFiled dot. 2, 1926 W gi 7 I L ml ifi L '7 f 30 211/077 J9 5 6 fia/z/t'fiwzne Patented May 17, 1932 {UNITED STATES, PATENT oFFie mam answers,orKriiosHA. WISCONSIN, A$SI1GNORTQ Simmons NEW YORK, N. Y, a,ooBBoRa'rIQN or nrmwe ia srfnme. surronrroa BED BorroMs AND; mnn mxnApplication filed October 2, 192.6; Serial No. 139,072.

This invention relates to spring supports for bed bottoms and the likeand more particularly to an improvement in means for positioning wiremembers such as coil springstive to rigidly support the part in thedesired 1 position; to provide such means without materially affectingthe strength of the support; to provide such means by an improved methodwhich may be easily and inexpensively carried out; and in general, toprovide an improved structure of the class described. Other objects andadvantages will become apparent when reference is had to the followingspecification when considered in connection with the accompanyingdrawings, wherein I have illustrated a selected embodiment of myinvention and in which Fig. 1 is an elevation of a portion of a bedbottom showing the method of assembling the parts concerned in thepresent invention.

Fig. 2 is a section on the line 22 of Fig. 1.

Figs. 3 and 4 are more or less diagrammatic illustrations of the methodof producing a spring seat according to the present invention, and

Figs. 5 and 6 are edge views of the bed bottom spring supporting membershown respectively in Figs. 3 and 4.

Referring now to the drawings and more particularly to Fig. 1, I haveillustrated a portion of a bed bottom comprising a supporting frame 10on which is supported a slat or cross member 11 which is preferably ametal strap of considerably greater width than thickness and arrangedwith its width extending in a vertical direction. The cross member 11 ispreferably disposed at a dis tance below the supporting frame 10 so asto provide ample room for a coil spring of considerable expanded lengthwithout unduly raising the height of the top of the bed bottom. Thecross member 11 may be so supported by means of an upwardly eXtend-. ingportion 12 and an outwardly extending portion-13 which maybe secured tothesup porting frame by any suitable means such as riveting, the'end ofthe slat being twisted 90 so as to facilitate such riveting. It is to beunderstood that the supporting frame 1Q; represents one sid'eof thespring bed bottom and that there are a series of cross members 11extending across substantially the entire.

width of the bed bottom and similarly supported on a similar supportingframe at the other side of the bed-bottom.

Intermediate the supporting side frames of the bed bottom, Iprovide aplurality of" rows of spaced coil springs in accordance with wellknownpractice, one of which springs is indicated at 14:. In the presentinstance, I have shown the coil springl igas being of the invertedconical type and having its-small end supported on'the slat 11. In orderto position the spring and to preventits moving from its position, Iprovide-a pair of seats or notches 15 and 16 in the edge of the slatwhich are adapted to receive diametrically opposite portions of thebottom" coil 17. 7 The springs may conveniently be locked to-therespectiveslats bymeans of a tie wire as 21 which is threadedoverportions of the lower 001117 on opposite sides ofthe slat 11 andunderithe slot, asbest shown in Fig.2. I also prefer to provide a seator notch 22 adapted to receive. and position the said-tie wire 21 aswill be readily understood from an inspection 'of'Fig. 1. The tie wire21 extends the entire length of' the bedbottom, being threaded throughthe successive coils and slats as above described'and this serves tospace the slats and so consolidate the spring supporting grille. I

According to previous practice, seats ornotches as above described havebeen pro- I vided by v removing V-shaped portions of metal from the edgeof the slat for example, as shownin the Lock-Lin Patent No. 720,715.This practice is found to materially weaken the slat,- sometimes asmuehas 50%", where I fore it has heretofore been necessaryto pro vide; aslat of considerably greater size-to insure sufiicie-nt strength than isrequired as a result of the present invention.

In carrying out the present invention, I provide spring receiving seatswithout materially varying the cross sectional area of the slatthroughout its length and thereby without materially affecting thestrength of the slat. I accomplish this preferably by increasing thethickness of the slat as shown at 18 adjacent the seat and graduallyreducin the increased thickness to the normal thickness as shown at 19.I contemplate increasing this thicknessand gradually reducing the sameas above described so that the cross-sectional areaof the bulges ofmetal in any one vertical plane will be substantially the same as thecross-sectional area of the notch in the same plane. It will be apparentthat the cross-sectional area of the slat is thus maintainedsubstantially constant throughout its entire length.- I have found thatI can conveniently and economically producejsuch seats by swagingportions of the.

slat adjacent its edge out of their normal position and causing thedisplaced metal to bulge outwardly on both sides of the slat.

In Fig. 3 I'have diagrammatically illustrated one means for carrying outthis swaging operation and which means comprises a punch 25 and a die26. The die 26 preferably consists of a member having a bifurcated endwhich is adapted to straddle the cross member 11. The ends of thebifurcated portion of the die member are provided with a substantiallyV-shaped notch'27. 'The die member is adapted to assume a position suchas shown in Fig. 4 where the notch 27 is near the edge of the crossmember in which the is preferably provided with a wedge-shaped end asshown at 28 and preferably corresponds in some degree to the V-shapednotch 27 in the die member. The punch member is adapted to be broughtdown into engagement with the edge of the slat 11 and forced downwardlyto displace a portion of the metal at the edge of the slat as will bereadily understood from an inspection of Fig. 4, and as shown at 29 and30 in Fig. 6. The die member 26 may obviously be made effective to limitdisplacement of the metal to a comparatively small area below the punchand to cause the displaced metal to bulge outwardly on either or bothsides of the slat, whereby the width of the seat, as shown at 31 in Fig.6, becomesalmost twice the thickness of the slat 11. It is obvious ofcourse that the thickness of this seat may be varied by varying theshape and depth of the notch.

By thus displacing as distinguished from removing, portions of themetal,I retain substantially all of the original strength of the slat.Where the cross-sectional dimensions of the slat are reduced in onedirection, they are increased in another as the metal is caused to bulgeoutwardly adjacent the seat. This bulging has a strengthening effectsuflicient to substantially compensate for the weakenlI1% Cl11e to thereduction in the one direction. ince I am thus able to produce a slathaving suitable spring receiving seats formed therein, withoutmaterially weakening the slat, it is obvious that I -may employ slats ofconsiderably less thickness and weight than has heretofore beenpracticable and which correspondingly lowers the cost thereof as well asthe'weight of the article of which the slate forms-a part. I

Other seating arrangements may be readily produced by punching orswaging and will'be comprehended by those skilled in the art and I,therefore, do not wish to be limited to the specific form shown. I amaware'that various changes may be made without de.--

parting from the essence of the invention as defined by the followingclaim, which I desire to have construed as broadly as possibleconsistent with the state of the art. 7

I claim as my invention:

In a bed spring including a series of axially verticalcoil springs,means for supporting the springs comprising a relatively wide but thinmetal strap disposed on edge and having a series of notches swaged inits upper edge for receiving portions of a series of .r

springs to position the same on the support, the metal displaced informing said notches being disposed adjacent the bottom and sides of therespective notches so as to maintain the cross sectional area of thestrap substantially uniform throughout its length.

- FRANK KUSTERLE.

